r/askcarsales • u/EveningListen6518 • 20h ago

US Sale Bad catalytic converter

Was sold a 2014 sonata 1 year and 4 months ago from a dealership. One month after purchase, the engine stalled multiple times in a parking lot after taking it on the interstate for the first time. After l Contacted the dealership, they took it in and looked at it, and said we don’t see a problem and the check engine lights had disappeared so “if the light comes back on bring it back in” has happened twice since then, only stalling once, with no light after restarting.

Well this weekend we had the same problem, took it back, and they said the manifold catalytic converter is failing, and they couldn’t cover the replacement now even with the warranty bc it was “wear and tear”. I’m sure we are well past the point of trying to argue it’s been bad since we bought it (even though I have a feeling that’s the case) but they slapped it back on and sent my wife on her way, and it suffered major engine damage on the drive home. Had it towed to a nearby location and have a phone call with the general manager of the dealership tomorrow … is there any course of action I can take to mitigate my losses here or are we stuck with the cost of an engine because they couldn’t find what was wrong when we took it in the first time?

Edit : spelling. And I’m sure I missed some 🙄

UPDATE: spoke with general manager, at first he tried the line of “well in life there are no guarantees and anything can happen” shot that down with we took their mechanics professional word that the “car was safe to drive, and would last until we found a replacement “ 20 min before it caused more damage. He finally admitted they were in the wrong there and will cover the cost of towing it to the shop and diagnosing the new problems. But in the same statement this man also said he didn’t understand how a catalytic converter off the manifold(which they took off , diagnosed as the problem, and showed pictures of how it was broken) could cause the engine to stop working and make noises and will look for “what ever other issues are happening” …..😳i am at a loss for words…

1 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

5

u/RexRaider Sales Manager - Canadian Kia Dealership 15h ago

13 year old Sonata? You're on your own here, unfortunately.

-3

u/EveningListen6518 12h ago

You sell bad cars and leave em on their own?

5

u/RexRaider Sales Manager - Canadian Kia Dealership 11h ago

No. that's not the case. If I was to sell a 10+ year old car, the car would be sold "as-is", with no warranty and no expectations of the car to be "good" or "bad".

-3

u/EveningListen6518 11h ago

Even “as is” sales come with legal protections to the consumer. It’s not as solid of a shield as you claim.

4

u/DavefromCA Former Sales 16h ago

Report back to us what the manager says.

What kind of warranty exactly? What does the paperwork say? Can you get a picture of the paper work and just copy/paste the text into a comment?

1

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u/AutoModerator 20h ago

Thanks for posting, /u/EveningListen6518! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of anything.

Was sold a 2014 sonata 1 year and 4 months ago from a dealership. One month after purchase, the engine stalled multiple times in a parking lot after taking it on the interstate for the first time. After l Contacted the dealership, they took it in and looked at it, and said we don’t see a problem and the check engine lights had disappeared so “if the light comes back on bring it back in” has happened twice since then, only stalling once, with no light after restarting.

Well this weekend we had the same problem, took it back, and they said the manifold catalytic converter is failing, and they couldn’t cover the replacement now even with the water bc it was “wear and tear”. I’m sure we are well past the point of trying to argue it’s been bad since we bought it (even though I have a feeling that’s the case) but they slapped it back on and sent my wife on her way, and it suffered major engine damage on the drive home. Had it towed to a nearby location and have a phone call with the general manager of the dealership tomorrow … is there any course of action I can take to mitigate my losses here or are we stuck with the cost of an engine because they couldn’t find what was wrong when we took it in the first time?

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

0

u/CaliCobraChicken69 Sales Adjacent 18h ago

While there are some national baselines (assuming you are in the US) emissions warranties vary somewhat by state. Try the legal subreddits.

1

u/EveningListen6518 12h ago

Can’t post to many places, made this account just for this.